Midnight Meetings
by FreckledWriter
Summary: The Ranch Hands are off limits, but wild and free Katy doesn't care.


Katy tiptoed onto the porch in socked feet then sat down on the edge. She put her boots on and stepped into the grass. She always set her alarm for eleven, and after being sure no one else was awake, she snuck outside to see Flicka. Everyone worked so hard on the ranch that they were usually asleep by ten. She had been sneaking out for four nights now and no one had caught her.

She had worked with horses all of her life but had never trained one by herself. Maybe if she could train Flicka to be a proper saddle horse her dad would see what she was capable of and give her a shot at running the ranch.

Katy stuck her hand through the fence and offered an apple to Flicka. The mare snorted. She could smell the apple but was still a little weary of Katy. Katy held still, and after five minutes the mare couldn't take it anymore and walked to her. Flicka took the apple from Katy's hand and ate it.

Katy smiled and slowly slid through the fence panels. Flicka trotted to the other side of the pen. Katy leaned against the panels and waited for Flicka to get comfortable with her presence. It was slow work but the mare was already doing better than she had the first night.

Katy was in a yellow tank top and boot cut blue jeans. Her brown cowboy boots didn't have any spurs because they weren't good for horses, and they were noisy. It was cool at nights, without being cold. Katy loved this time of year. Her dark red hair flowed down her back, wisps of it floating in the light breeze.

Flicka walked back to Katy to sniff at her hands. Katy ran her hands up the mare's neck and began to scratch her ears. Then Katy put her hands on Flicka's withers and lifted herself off of the ground. The mare threw her head back and snorted.

Katy jumped away and the mare laid back her ears. Katy took a few steps back and so did the horse, then the horse flung her head at Katy. Katy hopped back through the panels just as the mare charged at her.

As Katy flung herself through the bars she lost her balance. She hit the ground with a thud and laid there for a moment, disappointed. She was trying to decide what to do next when suddenly there were footsteps beside her.

"Katy! Are you okay? What are you doing?" It was Jack. He was in a white undershirt and wrangler jeans. She glanced at his boots then sat up.

"I'm fine. I was just petting her and she spooked." Katy sat up and looked at Jack, hoping he would stay quiet and not be mad at her. She liked Jack; they had spent a lot of time together over the years, fixing fence and herding horses.

Jack looked at her with wide eyes. "You were _not_ just petting her. I saw you, you were trying to get on her back."

Katy stood up and gave Jack a halfhearted smile. Then a thought occurred to her and the smile left her face. "Wait. Where did you come from? Were you walking up here? You spooked her!"

Jack paused for a moment before he answered in an angry whisper. "I did not spook her! I came up here to tell you that you're crazy, and you're gonna get hurt."

"How did you even know I was out here!?"

"I heard the horse snorting and was afraid that the cougar had wandered up to the house, so I looked out here and saw you. When I realized what you were doing I thought I better come stop you."

"I am working with her. I'm going to train her, she's going to be a good horse." Katy said defiantly.

"Your dad said not to. You should go back to the house and forget about this." Jack was speaking quietly and trying to reason with Katy, but she wasn't listening.

"You scared her. She'll be fine now, watch!" With that Katy slipped back into the pen before Jack could reach her to stop her. Flicka danced around nervously for a moment.

"Here girl. C'mere girl. It's okay." Katy was talking in a breathy voice to the horse and it seemed to be working. Jack was standing still watching in disbelief. Flicka walked forward toward Katy. Suddenly she put her ears back and bared her teeth. Katy backed up to the side of the pen.

"It's okay girl, you know I won't hurt you." But Flicka was spooked and not listening. She charged Katy again. Katy squatted down and started to crawl under the bottom panel of the pen.

Jacked pulled Katy under the bottom panel, out of the pen and into his lap. He wrapped his arms around her protectively and pulled her to his chest. She sat on his thighs breathing hard. Flicka snorted and trotted in circles. She turned and looked over her left shoulder at him. She started to speak but found herself speechless.

His eyes were so beautiful. The shape of Jack's lips made her heart flutter and right now his lips were very close to her own. She looked from his lips to his eyes a few times trying to figure out what to say. Jack wasn't saying anything either. Then he looked at Katy's lips, and Katy knew that he was thinking what she was thinking.

She thought, 'I'm already making crazy decisions, why not?' She leaned slightly forward and caught Jacks bottom lip between her lips. She froze with her eyes closed, waiting to see what Jack would do. Jack slowly closed his eyes.

After a moment he put his right hand on the back of Katy's neck, sliding his hand into her hair. He opened his mouth slightly and kissed her back. Katy turned a little and slid her hands onto Jack's shoulders. Jack's left hand was on her hip and he tightened his grip. He turned his head and kissed her harder, loving the feel of her soft lips. Katy breathed in through her nose and kept kissing him.

Jack knew that this was a bad idea, but he had a special place in his heart for Katy and couldn't make himself pull away. Katy gently sucked on his bottom lip then she opened her lips against his and he couldn't help but slip his tongue inside. After they swirled their tongues around for a moment Jack pulled back and looked in Katy's eyes. She didn't look afraid or even unsure of herself. She kept her hands on his shoulders and looked into his eyes.

"You know this is crazy right? You know your dad will kill me if he finds us like this."

"My dad wouldn't kill anyone. And no one else is awake. We can sit here for a little while." Katy said suggestively.

Jack sat still, he really wanted to keep kissing Katy, but he also did not want to get caught kissing Katy. He had seen her dad wrestle calves and had no doubt the man could give him a sound beating if he felt like it. He shook his head and started to speak but Katy pressed her lips to his again and he forgot what his argument was.

He kissed her for a little while, enjoying the feel of her being so close to him. They had been around each other a lot in the past, but not recently since she had been at school, and Jack had found himself missing her. He liked catching the scent of her perfume on the air, or the scent of her shampoo. Right now the breeze was blowing softly and he could feel her hair brushing his cheek and smell the flowery scent.

Jack pulled away again, this time picking Katy up by her sides and sitting her on the ground. "We have to stop. You have to go back to bed. I have to go back to bed. We can't do this." He shook his head and gave her a serious look.

Katy paused and looked around. Here they were sitting on the ground in the middle of the barnyard, it wasn't smart. She nodded and stood up. "Goodnight." Katy walked back to the house. Stopping at the porch to take off her boots, she looked back. Jack was standing at the edge of the barnyard making sure she made it to the house. Katy smiled. This wasn't over.


End file.
